How Do I Breathe?
by KayTayKannon15
Summary: I can't really write a summary right now. I would give too much away. I will write a summary when the main events begin to unfold. For now, I will say that Troy Bolton is a miserable person who with his girlfriend, Gabriella, decides to raise a child that he conceived with another woman. The actual story is a completely different plot than what happens in the first few chapters.
1. Chapter 1

January 28th, 2013

The room is dark, dry, and cold. An orange and black basketball climbs the air directly upwards, stopping for just a second at the peak of its velocity, then falls gently back into the hands that threw it. Up again, then down into the hands. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. And eventually, the ball slips from its path and bounces upon the wooden-slated floors, polished with expensive preservatives and sparkly mop-and-shine. Too lazy to retrieve the ball, the boy lies ventral on the bed, staring straight at the ceiling. His arms flow down to his stomach, where they tie with each other and raise up and down with his slow breathing.

"How the hell am I going to tell my mom," Troy whispers to himself. "She's going to kill my ass."

He pushes his tired fingers through his dark hair and blinks tears away from his blue eyes. The stress has been tearing him apart for months, and he has to hold it all in. He can't tell his mom. She has enough on her plate as it is. He can't tell his grandparents in fear that they will tell his mom. Somehow, someone told the secrets months ago at school and everyone there knows his secret.

Scratches fall upon his wooden door. It creaks open and stops at about six inches wide. An oversized dog snout sneaks in. It turns to the left and nuzzles the door open wider. The light reveals a steel-grey dog, approximately a meter tall, with flecks of a lighter color all throughout the coat. His face is ragged and hairy, almost covering the eyes.

"What's the matter, bud?"

The door pouts a bit at the door, pawing at the floor anxiously.

"Come in, Rex."

The dog bolts inside the room and finds the oversized dog bed in the corner. He circles on the bed a few times before plopping down in a satisfying manner.

His iPhone began to sing to him. He groans with anxiety, knowing that the ringer that is playing is none other than the person he really didn't want to talk to.

He had to talk to her. He can't bail out on her. She's alone, too.

His fingers grasp the buzzing phone and he looks at it. The name across the top reads "Jessica" and he cries out in angst. He slid the bar across the screen and turned it on speaker.

"Hello?" he says.

"Troy? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Oh, you sound different," Jessica says sarcastically. "So, what's your problem today?"

"Everything," he barks sharply, "you, mom, dad, this house, my schooling, my friends, life in general-"

Troy sits up and sighs deeply. He turns the phone on speaker.

"What do you want from me, Jessica? More paperwork, signatures, headaches?"

"No, not really. I just want you to come to my sonogram tomorrow ."

Troy's heart fell out of his chest. He knew that it wouldn't be a good thing for him to do, but he knew that he signed up for it. He _has_ to go. If he doesn't go, the courts will penalize him. His gut twists and his throat dries, but he can't back out. After all, he helped create this mess, so he has to help clean up the mess. With a twitch of his mouth, he says something.

"I can't."

"What? What do you mean 'I can't?'" she gasps.

"I promised my mom I would spend the day with her," he lies.

"Who's more important? Your mom, or your baby?"

"My mom, bitch. That baby is as much mine as it will be yours when you hand it off to the dip-shits that are going to take it. Stop calling me, drug whore!"

He hangs up on her and sets his phone on the nightstand beside his bed. It isn't worth going to look at a baby that he is never going to see. He doesn't want anything to do with her or her kid. He doesn't even consider their baby his. All he really considers himself as is a sperm donor. That's all he wants to be is a sperm donor. Not a father, not a relative, nothing. A screwed up sperm donor.

…..

"Stop it! Stop it! Mitch, stop!"

A girl wriggles and giggles while a kid Troy's age tickles her and kisses all over her. Troy watches intently. His eyes wander across her plump breasts, petite figure, little butt... Of course, his TV is too small, so they can't go all the way being on his TV. He loathes Mitch with a burning passion. He misses having a girlfriend, but he can't just go run out and get one. He learned his lesson with that one. He misses the one that he did have, not Jessica, but his _first_ love, and his _only_ love.

The doorbell buzzes and Troy jumps to his feet. He drags them across the cold ceramic tiles and finds the front door.

"Why are you guys here?"

Troy stands at the door in his sweats and a muscle shirt. Two of his friends and one of their girlfriend stand there with a 6 pack of beer and pizza.

"Happy birthday," the person in front says.

"It's not my birthday, Keith."

"Bullshit, it is your birthday, don't lie."

Troy opens the door wider and says, "Come on in."

The friends file inside of the house. The friend with the beer shoves it in the fridge and the friend with the pizza sets it on his kitchen counter.

"Bryan, fetch me a beer," Keith says.

"I want one!" his girlfriend, Randy cries.

"Make that two," Keith makes himself comfortable on the couch with Randy.

Troy closes the front door and scratches his head, trying to remember when he invited them over for a party with beer and pizza. He remembers the last party they had ended up with over fifty people and a lot of drunk teenagers. It was a party that he hosted at his house, and a party that got him in big trouble. He gives up on trying to remember and shrugs to himself. He once again drags his bare feet across the ceramic tiles and plops down in his living room chair.

"So, how old are you today?" Bryan says from the kitchen.

"Seventeen," he sighs.

"Oh, the big one seven, huh?" Bryan enters the living room with four beers. He throws one to Keith, one to Randy, and offers one to Troy.

"No thanks," he shakes his head.

"Why not?"

"I don't like beer and I don't drink."

Bryan shrugs and sets the beer on the table. He plops down in the loveseat across from Troy. The TV channel is flipped to a scary movie.

"Ooh, I love this movie!" Randy's eyes become saucers.

Keith sets the remote on the table. "Where's the party? Cake? Ice cream? Music?"

Troy reclines the chair and looks up at the ceiling. His head begins to ache slightly as the smell of fresh pizza enters the living room. He closes his eyes.

"There is no party."

"What? No party for your seventeenth birthday?" Keith stands to attention. "I demand a party!"

"Today hasn't been a good day," Troy rolls on his side and stares at the ornate flowery wallpaper.

"Is the bitch bothering you? Do you want me to take care of-"

"She only called. I'm just stressed out about school, mom, dad, and Gabriella-"

"Gabriella?" Bryan raises an eyebrow. "You guys have been broken up for at least a year now, right?"

Troy curls up in his chair and stares at the wall, sighing

"You're really going to beat yourself up over her?" Keith's chuckling switches to laughter. "C'mon now, Bolton! You're a big boy, don't let a girl like her bother you. Someone who doesn't believe you when you are telling the truth doesn't deserve to be with you. You deserve a lot better than her."

"I didn't cheat on her," Troy cries, "I never cheated on her!"

"And we believe you, don't we Bryan?" Keith turns his head to Bryan.

Bryan gives a worried laugh, "Then how is Jessica pregnant?"

"I dated her after Gabriella broke up with me," Troy says, "and then she got pregnant..."

"Oh..." Bryan says awkwardly. "Do you need some time to yourself?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine," Troy sits up.

Keith looks over at Randy, "Are you okay?"

Randy's eyes are still saucers. She stares at the TV with such intent that every movement of hers is involuntary. Keith shakes her arm and says her name again, but she does not respond.

"She does this every once in a while," Keith says.

Troy stands up and stares at Randy for a second, then turns his back and enters the main hall of his house. The front door stares at him as he passes by it, beckoning for him to look at it. It draws him in mysteriously. He stops, turns to it, reaches for it, and opens it slightly. Outside, fluffy white snow falls delicately from invisible clouds above. Every flake finds its place on the frozen land and rests beside its buddy. They create frozen mounds of white water and create barriers between everything on Earth. Troy pulls on his shoes and stands in the doorway.

Rex enters the hallway. He stands there for a moment before putting on his pouty face towards Troy.

"You can come, I guess. You better be good, though."

Rex wags his tail slightly and inches towards the door.

"Go on," Troy says.

Before Troy exits, Bryan finds Troy in the hallway

"Where are you going?" Bryan almost walks past Troy.

"Just tell Keith and Randy that they can stay the night if they want. You can stay too, I could care less," Troy says without looking at Bryan.

Bryan backs up a few steps and leans against the wall, "Is there something going on, man?"

"Nah," Troy shakes his head, "I'm just heading out for tonight."

Troy can tell that Bryan understood. Troy needs his space. Troy _always_ needs space. Even when there is only one person around, he needs his space. Bryan nods at him.

"You need a ride?" he asks.

"I'm okay, I can walk. It's good exercise for Rex." Troy replies.

"Pizza's on me this time," Bryan chuckles.

"You were going to make me pay for it?" Troy sarcastically laughs.

"I didn't have the money, so Keith paid for it."

"Oh, I see," Troy shakes his head. "See you sometime tomorrow."

"Yep."

Troy unhooks his keys from the key holder beside the door, pulls his coat off the coat rack and shuts the door behind himself. He pulls his coat on and zips up the front quickly, gasping at how freezing cold it is outside. Snow engulfs the domain in front of him. More heavy snow falls and traps the land around him. This is his town's heaviest snow of the year yet. Their estimated fall is up to 20 inches of snow. Troy begins to slosh through the thick snow with nothing but jeans, sneakers, and an old coat. He begins to regret selling his mom's car.

"God damn weather, snow, fucking life..." Troy throws an armful of snow out of his way and looks desperately for the street.

"Seven miles in this weather isn't going to do me any good," he says to himself.

When he finally finds the road, he discovers that the plow had recently went over it, since the snow was only about a quarter-inch high. Rex runs to Troy with a stick in his mouth and then finds his place walking beside Troy. Troy looks over, pats Rex on his wiry head, and sets off on his journey.


	2. Chapter 2

January 28th, 2013

"Slow down, Rex!"

The dog speeds ahead through the clouds of snow and the snowdrifts that line the banks of the road. Miles behind them lies his town of Four Corners, and the present town is Bozeman.

Seven miles in between. Two hours by foot.

Troy walks to Bozeman once a week, sometimes more often or less often, depending on his mood. Bozeman is his native town and ironically his father's. His mother comes from a different country – Ontario, Canada, to be precise. She moved to Bozeman with her boyfriend (Troy's father) when she was eighteen. They got married and had their first child, Baylie, when his mom was twenty. Their second child, Amelia, when she was twenty-one. Then, along came Troy when she was twenty-six, and their last child, Isabella, when she was thirty-five. His two oldest sisters are in two different private European colleges and Isabella is with their father and has been since she was just over a year old, somewhere off in the United States, no where near him or their mother. Baylie and Amelia are stuck where they are, with no extra money to come back to the United States until they graduate (or so they say). Troy is the only one that is at home where he belongs. Unfortunately, he is also the one who has the most pressure on his shoulders at any given time.

Rex barks wildly as he tramps ahead through the banks of snow at the movement of snow. Troy lets out a slight chuckle as the wind takes the puffs of breath away from his mouth. He shuffles through the messy snow bank that was obviously toppled over by Rex and to the other side of the houses beside him. He then finds another street, empty as all others are at this time of night, and whistles for Rex.

"Get over here before the residents start yelling!" Troy whispers harshly to a playful and bounding Rex.

Rex obeys Troy and slowly trudges over to him, tail between his legs. Troy's arm dangles down to his back and he pets Rex as they walk together through the snow.

They arrive at a large white and red-bricked building. The building is a place that Troy does not want to be and never imagined that he would be here. He finds the pathway to the doors and follows it, Rex hanging closely by. This place has been his second home since he was fourteen years old. He always comes to this building for holidays and birthdays, but this day was different. He didn't want to come to this place all depressed. He didn't want to upset anyone, but he knew that they would have his ass if he didn't come today for his birthday. All of his problems in the entire world _have_ to suddenly vanish when he goes inside this building. Making someone unhappy is a priority, especially in this place. This place is filled with happiness and prayers and hope. Especially hope...

He enters the lit building with a fake happy expression plastered all over his face. He shivers for a moment as his body tries to regulate its heat with the inside of a warm building. He stomps his feet at the entrance mat, shakes his clothes off, takes his coat off, and wipes the snow from Rex's fur. He then pushes another set of double doors open and Rex promptly follows close behind.

A woman in her thirties dressed in green scrubs and a fruit v-neck scrub shirt walks by Troy. She stops in her tracks and gives him a bit of a frown.

"Mr. Bolton, did you walk again?!"

Troy folds his jacket over one of his arms and nods, "Yes, Gina, I walked again."

She crosses her arms and shakes her head, "You know that if you want to come down, you can call and the head nurse will come and pick you up!"

"I know that."

"Then _why_ didn't you call?"

Troy shrugs and tries to look as innocent as possible.

Gina rolls her eyes.

"What?" Troy says.

Gina walks towards him slowly, and when she approaches him, she takes his jacket out of his hands and gives Rex a pat on the head, "You shouldn't be walking outside when it's this cold and snowy, let alone at night. Please, just call if you want to come down."

Troy nods and begins to walk, but she stops him again.

"Happy birthday, Troy," she gives a quick smile.

"Thanks," he replies.

Rex follows him down the main hall, where many of the staff members greet him with 'happy birthday', 'good to see you', 'how are you', 'why are you out so late in the cold', and 'how's Rex doing'. He tries to remain happy, but he's worn from the walk here and he's tired of the same old thing every time he comes to this place. A few new staff members freak out at the sight of Rex, calling for security and telling Troy to leave the building, but many end up laughing after being told that he is allowed inside, asking what his name is, what kind of dog he is, and how old he is. Troy always replies, "his name is Rex, he's an Irish Wolfhound, and he's one". Many gasp at his age and ask how he trained Rex to be such a good dog, and Troy again replies, "I have a lot of extra time on my hands lately".

The elevator ride up to the seventh floor is quite long, considering that many of the staff members use the same elevators as he is in, just to ask him how he was and to catch up on what was going, since it has been almost a month since he was last there. The last time he was here was for New Year's.

He finds the front desk of this floor and waits patiently for the secretary to stop writing something down. She looks up at him and gives him a friendly smile.

"Well hello Troy, you sure came late, but it's wonderful to see you!"

"It's nice to see you too, Patty."

She hands him a clipboard and a pen, "You know the drill".

He signs himself and Rex in pristine handwriting and writes down 11:15 under 'time in'. He hands the clipboard back to Patty and waves to her as he walks down the empty corridor. He knows that behind the closed doors, people are sleeping peacefully with not a care in the world until they wake up and have to start the day all over again.

He turns to the eighth room on the left.

_Room 248: Kay Johnston_

Troy stands at the door for a few seconds. He reminds himself to be happy no matter what the circumstances are. He needed to block all the other things in life.

He entered the room.

The room smelled of fresh flowers and pretty perfume. He closed the door gently behind him as Rex entered and stayed close by him. Everything was the same, all but the writing board on the wall across from him, which had a different positive message every week. This week's message said, "Every day is different day, so try hard to make every day the best day ever". Hospital equipment is covered by a thin curtain which lines the wall to the left. It is covered with letters of hope and joy, get well notes, and post cards from Europe, sent by Baylie and Amelia. A jumbo-sized teddy bear keeps close watch from a chair in front of the curtain and holds the daily fresh roses picked from the hospital's garden. Many trinkets and nick-nacks sit on a shelf beside him, all from home, and still smells of home. The TV is turned on low and the light is off, so it is best to stay quiet.  
Troy sneaks in and turns the corner. He quickly flashes the light on.

A middle-aged woman turns her head towards Troy. She has light brown hair and blue eyes.

"Troy?" she squints.

"Hey mama," he smiles at her and sits down in the chair beside the bed, "how are you?"

She sits up quickly and reaches over to give Troy a hug, "Happy birthday," She embraces him tightly and kisses his forehead and both his cheeks, "I'm great, just like usual". She gives Rex a large hug as well and he returns the favor with loads of kisses and whimpers of joy.

"Why haven't you come to visit me for a while?" she asks innocently.

"I've been really busy mom, I just haven't had time. I know I should have made time, but I just can't," Troy lies.

She frowns a little, "Honey, it's okay. You know that I don't want to interfere with your personal life. I want you to treat me like you normally would. I don't blame you for not coming to see me for a while. I get pretty boring."

"No mom, you don't get boring at all. Don't ever think that," Troy reassures her and grabs her hand. "You're more important to me than anything right now."

"I'll be fine, I just want you to have your life too," she says and strokes his hair gently. "I want you to be a kid for as long as you can."

Rex rests his head on the bed beside Kay and looks up at her, wagging his tail. She places her hand on his head.

"And I want you to be a puppy for as long as you can okay, Rex?" she smiles at him.

Troy exchanges conversation with his mother for a while, trying to avoid the subject of Jessica or Gabriella. He does not want to tell her about either of them, but he has an extremely guilty conscience. At this point in Jessica's pregnancy, it would be now or never for him. He can either tell her or let it go and she would never know about it. Kay babbles on for about two hours freely about the nurses, the doctors, and the on-hand staff, who are all so generous and kind to her in her present condition. Troy pretends to listen, even though other things are crossing his mind.

"So, how have you and Gabriella been? Staying strong, most likely," Kay smiles at him.

A harpoon to the heart. He feels the jolt of sadness and nothing but anxiety runs through his body. How does he tell his mom that Gabriella broke up with him, accused him of cheating on her, and then walked out of his life? How does he tell her that when he sees Gabriella anywhere at any given time, she just ignores him like he's nobody? How does he tell Kay that he still loves Gabriella with all his being, even though it's been almost a year since they broke up? How does he do it?

He doesn't.

"We're great, actually," Troy laughs nervously. "She wanted me to tell you that she said hi."

"I miss seeing you two together. She hasn't came to visit me in about a year now. Why is that?"

Another harpoon tears Troy's heart apart. How does he get around this one?

"She has a job that is an hour away. She's so busy with work and school that we barely have any time together."

"Oh, that's fine. I was just curious," Kay says.

Troy looks at his watch. He pretends that he is late for something.

"Mom, I have to get going," Troy quickly stands up. "I have an interview at six that I can't miss. It's going to take me two hours to get home and get some rest, then I have to wake up. I shouldn't have even came down, I should have waited until tomorrow-"

"That's okay, just don't wait so long to come see me again! You know I miss you," she says.

Troy bends over and kisses his mom on the cheek. She returns the favor with a kiss on the forehead and gives him a tight squeeze, "I love you," she says.

"I love you too, mom," Troy stands up straight and pats Rex on the head.

"I'll see you soon," she waves to him as he backs towards the door.

"I'll come see you soon," he promises as he switches off the light

He opens the door, steps out, and closes it behind him. Rex stands outside, staring at Troy, waiting for his next move. Troy begins down the hallway very slowly. He passes the first few doors.

"Why didn't you tell her, that's why you came here, after all," he scolds himself.

He knows that within the next few months, he will be back and forth to this hospital, signing papers for his mom, signing papers for Jessica, and walking the seven miles here and the seven miles home. He knows Jessica will have the baby and he will be here in this hospital, waiting to sign the final papers for her, waiting to tell her to never talk to him again, and then he will come upstairs to talk to his mom, when he has to put on the most fake, happiest face in the world, knowing that he just threw a piece of himself into some strangers' arms and left. No matter how bad the day is, he has to come to see his mom with a happy face.

Troy is not happy. He is miserable in his body. He is miserable knowing that his baby was going to go to someone else. He will never get to see his child grow up. He is miserable knowing that his mom is sick and is not getting any better, that one day, she may die and he will never get to see her again. He is miserable knowing that his sisters are all the way across the world from him and they are living carefree, happy lives and not worrying about a damn thing, especially their own cancerous mother. He is miserable knowing that his dead-beat father is out there somewhere, wondering about his three other kids, or maybe not and just living life with only one kid. He is miserable knowing that his little sister, Isabella, will never get to know her big brother, her big sisters, or even her own mom. He is miserable knowing that Gabriella is living her life like he had never been in it.

He is downright miserable. He loathes they who have a carefree life.

Troy turns on his heel and runs back down the hallway. He passes all the sleeping patients' rooms and all the staff members, who wonder what he's doing. Rex follows behind, whimpering because Troy has left him alone, and he was trying to catch up. Troy enters his mom's room without knocking and Rex bolts in right after him, only to stay by the door. Troy flicks the light on.

"I thought you were going home-"

In the presence of his mom, he shows his true self. He is angry and upset. He is worn out, he is tired, he is weak. He is confused, distraught, fired up, and innocent. He plunks down in the chair and his head falls into his hands. Tears fall from his eyes.

"Is something going on, Troy?" Kay sits up again, swings her feet around the bed and stands on her feet. She placed her hands on Troy's shoulders and kneels down to his eye level.

"Tell me what's wrong, honey," she removes his hands from his eyes and pulls his face up to look at her, "tell me."

"Mom, I can't do it anymore," he cries out.

"What can't you do anymore?"

"All this stress," tears fall down his cheeks.

"From me being here?"

"Not just that."

"Then what else?" Kay takes one hand off his shoulder and pulls another chair up to Troy. She rubs his arm.

"It's a long story," he looks away from Kay, trying to contain his tears, but to no avail, they continue to fall.

"Start at the beginning then, you know I'm always here to listen," she grasps his hand.

"I'm so ashamed, mom."

"Just start at the beginning, Troy," she assures.

Troy sobs a few times before starting his story.

"Early last March, the school let out one day and I waited in the parking lot for Gabriella to finish talking to her teacher about her grade in the class and she never came. I thought that she went with her friends, so I was about to leave and her friend asked me for a ride home. I said okay, and I took her home. I went home. Gabriella wasn't there. I thought it was strange, so I went over to her parent's house and they said that she didn't want to talk to me."

Troy stops for a moment to sob a little more, then continues.

"I went upstairs without her parents knowing and she was there, she was hysterical, she was so upset, it broke my heart, mom," Troy jerks a few times.

"Go on," she says.

"She said that she hated me, and I asked her why, and she said that I cheated on her with her friend. I never cheated on her, I was always faithful to her, I love her next to loving you."

"And she broke up with you?"

"She did. Her other friend came over to the house to collect all her things and she was out in the car, crying, and I went out and told her that I didn't cheat on her and I took her friend home. She thought I took her friend to the house and slept with her while Gabriella was talking to her teacher. I wasn't there when she was done talking and she saw me dropping her friend off at her house. Mom, I never did and now she hates me..."

"Troy, this was over a year ago-"

"But that's not it!" he shakes his head.

"What else is there?" Kay moves closer to him.

"That May, my friends brought over this one girl, and her name was Jessica. She was really pretty, you know, and I was still really torn up over Gabriella. I didn't know anything about this girl, and she asked me out, so I went ahead and dated her for about three days-" Troy cuts himself off and shuts his mouth.

"What else happened?"

"N-nothing, mo-m,"

"Bull, tell me what happened," she says.

Kay doesn't know that Troy isn't a virgin. He never told her about anything he has done with any given girl, other than Gabriella, because they were together for over three years. He lost his virginity to Gabriella, but he NEVER told his mom. He never dared to tell her.

"I slept with her," he confesses.

The shock in Kay's eyes is something that Troy has never seen before. She just stared at him with a blank expression on her face.

"You... You slept with this girl?"

"Yes," he nods.

"Were you smart about it?"

A nervous streak went down his spine.

"I didn't think anything would happen, it was my first time with her, she was on birth control, I was pretty sure nothing would happen-"

"Oh god, Troy," Kay sighs and stands up.

"Mom, please don't make it any worse-"

"Is she pregnant?" Kay looks down at him with a serious look on her face.

This is the flight or fight moment. He can either say no, or tell her the truth.

"She's eight and a half months right now. I could be the father, or a various amount of other people could be the father."

Kay almost begins to cry herself. Troy sees tears well up, but none drop from her eyes. She quickly wipes them away.

"This is not good, Troy," she crosses her arms and has a seat in the chair again, "I don't think you realize the severity of this."

"I do, mom, I really do," he sobs, "right now, I'm assuming that her baby is mine and I told her that I would put my name on the birth certificate if she would leave me alone. So right now, she sends me tons of paperwork that I have to fill out for this kid. I dropped out of school because nobody would leave me alone about it. My coach threw me out of basketball because he didn't want to look bad himself. When she got to be about five months along, she decided to put it up for adoption. So, I have double the paperwork to fill out."

Troy places his face in his hands once again. He jerks a few times with his sobs and wretches out warm tears. She rubs his back and rests her forehead on the top of his head. His emotions find their way out of his body slowly.

"I miss dad and Isabella, and I wish Amelia and Baylie cared a little more about you, and you weren't sick..."

"I know, Troy," her tears fall from her eyes as well. "All the pressure was just handed over to you and it shouldn't have..."

"I'm so sorry mom, I really screwed up," Troy pleads, "please, don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, Troy," she kisses the top of his head. "I'm sorry that you've had all this thrown on you. You should be your age right now, going out with friends and having a good time, focusing on school... I just wish you would have told me earlier."

Troy cries into Kay's arms, just like a little boy and his mother, he's pleading for her forgiveness and she's telling him that it's okay, but he doesn't believe her. Nothing is okay.

"Here..." Kay pats the right side of the bed, "get up there."

Kay scurries around to the other side of the bed while Troy lifts himself up on the right side. He rests his head on the pillow while Kay covers him up.

"Just sleep," she says and kisses the side of his head.

Troy shuts his eyes, and automatically, he's asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

January 29th, 2013

Rex dives into the snow banks outside of Troy's house. Before every jump, he sticks his entire snout into the snow, pulls it back out quickly, spins around a few times, and then leaps forwards. Gushes of snow drift off with the gentle wind, being carried off many different directions before landing slowly on the ground. Rex loves the cold winter; Troy does not.

"Honey, are you okay?" says Kay as her hand falls on Troy's shoulder.

Troy jolts back a bit and turns his head crookedly towards Kay. He nods slightly.

"I was just making sure," she says, "because I know you're dealing with a lot."

Troy swipes the back of his hand across his face and shoves his hands in his pockets. He knows that only two weeks lies between him being a teenager and him being a father to an adopted child. Two weeks before his entire life will change. In a way, he really doesn't want to give the baby up, but how could he be a father? Jessica definitely won't want anything to do with the baby, so there will be no mother. His mom can't help him because she's battling for her life. His friends have no experience with kids at all. The only person he can recall that could help him is Gabriella, since she has young brothers and sisters, and she's too upset with him to help him do anything. It only leaves one option.

Give the baby up and suffer from helplessness, or keep it and suffer without help.

A few translucent tears freely fall from his eyes. He keeps his head down in shame, hiding the weakness that he cannot help.

"Mom?" Troy turns his head slightly to the side, looking at her through the corner of his eye.

"What is it?" she answers as she folds her clean clothes and packs them neatly into her dresser.

Troy stares outside at Rex, who is seven floors below him. Outside with him are two adults and a little girl named Paige, who has been suffering from Lymphoblastic Leukemia before his mom was diagnosed with Colorectal cancer. Paige was diagnosed when she was six months old and is now five years old. She is happiest with animals and Troy knows that Rex makes her very happy. She is also a full-time patient at the hospital since her case of cancer is so bad. Her mother and father stay with her as well, sleeping on cots beside her bed every night, hoping and praying that she gets better, but she has never gotten better. She has always progressed deeper into the cancer stages, no matter how much radiation and chemotherapy she has. About three years ago, she lost every bit of her hair. To make it worse, she also lost complete hearing in her left ear.

Paige turns around outside, looks up into Kay's room window, and waves excitedly at Troy. Troy waves back at her with a smile on his face, no matter how upset he is.

Paige is a strong, unbreakable little girl.

"I don't know if I want to give away my baby, mom," he says quietly.

Kay stops folding clothes for a few seconds, staring at him, then she goes back to her action, "I don't think you should keep it, honey."

"Why not?"

"At your age, I just don't see how you could do it by yourself. Not only that, but you need to do things that kids your age do. A baby will make you grow up pretty quickly."

Troy stands up from the chair and begins to walk around slowly, "I just don't want my kid going to a bad home, you know."

"I know how you feel," she shakes her head, "I wonder all the time about Izzy and if your father is treating her okay. I wonder about her being fed, having a roof over her, going to school, and even where she is, but I can't let that bring me down. I have you to still take care of since you're under eighteen, even though I'm not home, I still keep a roof over your head and I put food in the fridge for you every two weeks, and I have Baylie and Amelia who are eating my savings account alive. I know your father loves Izzy and takes care of her, but I still worry about her."

Troy's phone begins to buzz. An unfamiliar ringtone plays. He quickly pulls it out of his pocket and looks at the screen. He slides the bar at the bottom and holds it up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Is this Troy Bolton?" a woman asks.

"Yes, who is this?" he looks over at his mom and shrugs.

"My name is Dr. Wolf, I'm Jessica's OB/GYN."

"Oh okay, why are you calling me, though?"

"Well, we seem to have a slight problem with Jessica's pregnancy. I've sent her to the Bozeman Medical Center to be induced today, due to the fact that the baby's umbilical cord is wrapped around its neck, and its heartbeat is slowing down significantly. If we don't deliver today, there could be brain damage and it could possibly die. She wanted me to call you because she's only a few minutes away from giving birth. I'm going to be at the hospital in a few minutes. I wanted to know if you wanted to be in-"

"No, I don't want to be there and Jessica doesn't want me to be there, either," he blurts quickly.

"Oh," Dr. Wolf says.

Between the two phones, there is a moment of silence before Troy speaks.

"Thank you, Dr. Wolf."

"Your very welcome, Mr. Bolton."

Troy hangs up quickly and looks over at his mom, "I'll be back later, I promise."

"Where are you going-"

"Jessica's going to have the baby. I'm just going to get down there in case something happens. Stay here so Paige doesn't wonder where everyone is when she brings Rex back up."

…..

Hospital staff fly by Troy, rushing pregnant mothers to awaiting delivery rooms. Minutes after every mother is in the room, screams emerge from between the cracks of each door, the violent screams nobody in the hospital seems to notice but Troy. He holds his hands over his ears and winces every time another helpless moan finds him. The hours tick away, the clock reads five PM, then six PM, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve AM. What really drives him insane is the fact that he has heard _nothing_ about the condition of Jessica or the baby. Not one doctor has left Jessica's room, nor one nurse that walks by the room knows anything. It's like everyone is oblivious, but they have to know something.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Troy sits up as the head nurse passes him.

She turns around quickly, "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you knew anything about Jessica or her baby?"

She frowns and shakes her head, "Unfortunately, sir, I can't disclose any information about any patients-"

Troy stands up and cuts her off sharply with, "I've been told this too many times, I need to know how they are. If you can't tell me, then I'm going to break into this room and find out myself."

"Are you the father of the child?"

He nods quickly.

"I can let you in the room only if you're related to the baby. You should have just asked a nurse if you could be let in-"

"I did. They told me I wasn't allowed in there."

She turns back around and starts back down the hall, "You can go in."

Troy quickly turns himself towards the door and pulls the handle while pushing the lever above it. He hears a faint click, and the door is free. He closes it behind him as he enters the room.

The room is dimly lit with only a small lamp. On the hospital bed is Jessica, who is hugging her knees to her chest. She stares into space with no intention of responding to anything that happens.

"Jessica? It's me, Troy."

She slowly turns her head towards him. Her mascara and eyeliner are smeared down her face in runny tears. She swiftly wipes them away, trying to hide them. In a teary voice, she says, "Hi, Troy."

He walks very slowly into the middle of the room, looking at only her. Once again, she tries to hide her sorrow, but cannot.

"Are you okay?" Troy asks with a gentle voice. She looks up at him and half laughs, half cries.

"You're asking me if I'm okay in the most comforting way when you've been a complete asshole to me the entire time I've been pregnant? I'm not fucking okay. I'm giving my baby up to someone I don't even know. I'll never see it. I don't want to see it. I signed the papers, it's done, Troy. All you have to do is sign your part and the baby is gone."

Troy takes a seat in the mother's rocking chair beside her bed. He sighs a bit and avoids her eyes.

"Why the fuck are you even here? I told you I would send the fucking paperwork to your house," she hisses.

"I'm here with my mom; she's in the cancer center, and I thought I might come down to see if my kid is okay, since I heard the cord was wrapped around its neck," he responds.

She chuckles, "There's more wrong with it than that, Troy. It's not even worth telling you."

He raises his voice, "Look, if you don't think I care about this baby, YOU ARE WRONG! Jesus fucking Christ Jessica, I signed up to make sure this baby goes to a good home, to make sure it's healthy, and to make sure that you were taken care of as far as prenatal things go. So far, only one of the three things ever happened. I don't know where the fuck my kid is going, since the adoption agents can't find a home for it, and I don't even know if my kid is healthy. I shouldn't have even came down here."

He stands up to leave, but Jessica stops him.

"I'm upset too, okay? I don't know where its going either or if it's okay."

Troy turns his back to her and begins to walk out of the room. Jessica sobs and cries behind him, but he ignores her and slams the door. He storms angrily down the halls of the mother and baby section of the hospital until he comes across the NICU section. His sneakers squeak as he stops quickly at the front desk.

"Where the hell is Dr. Wolf?"

The ladies at the desk look at each other, "We don't have a Dr. Wolf at this hospital-"

"She's an OB/GYN from downtown Bozeman. She came here because she looks after the mother of my baby."

"Oh, that Dr. Wolf, she's in the DRC," the lady on the left says.

"Where is that?" Troy says.

"Down that hallway to the right, and it's the last door on the left."

"Thanks," he says quickly as he rushes down the hallway and turns a sharp right. Each door is closed and sealed tightly, since every newborn baby is important to them and cannot be sick.

The sign on the last door on the left reads 'Drug Rehabilitation Center (DRC)', so Troy enters.

"Dr. Wolf," he says, relieved.

"Mr. Bolton, what are you doing here?" she says as she whips around.

He closes the door gently behind him. "I know you're probably taking care of someone else's baby right now, but I really need to know about mine. Is it okay?"

"I'm not taking care of someone else's baby, yours is the only one that was under my care," she stares at his frozen body. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, we're in the Drug Rehabilitation Center. My baby isn't here."

Dr. Wolf slips a latex glove on her left hand, "I'm sorry to have to deliver this kind of news to you, but your baby is here in the DRC. I concluded a few hours ago that the baby was addicted to some kind of drug, so I asked Jessica about any illegal drug use or prescription abuse while she was pregnant, and she admitted that she had taken various opiates while she was pregnant.

Troy's head spins. He finds a seat and sits down in it quickly, cradling his head in his two hands. Pain sears through his skull. He remembers making jokes about her being addicted to something, even though he was just playing. He never thought she was taking any kinds of drugs while she was pregnant. She never showed any signs of withdrawal while he saw her. She never even looked like she was high at any point.

"So the baby is addicted to drugs? What else is wrong?"

Dr. Wolf sighs, "Brain damage from the drug use is probably in the baby's future. The baby was born without a heartbeat, so the nurses had to revive it. It's now on Oxygen, since the lungs aren't fully developed, and close observation."

"God damn her," Troy shakes his head and takes a deep breath.

"My deepest apologies, Mr. Bolton."

"Is the baby going to be okay?" he looks up at her helplessly.

"At this point Mr. Bolton, I'm going to give it a few days before I'm going to conclude anything. If I don't see significant changes, then I don't think it will make it."

"I haven't signed the paper," Troy holds back a few tears, "the final paper."

"Until you sign that paper, the baby is in the state's hands. If you decide not to sign the paper, the baby is in your hands. It all depends on what you want, Mr. Bolton. Jessica has no say in this, since she already signed the paper. She is to have no contact with this child under all circumstances."

Troy sits back in the chair, "Can I see the baby? Just once, since I'll never see it again?"

Dr. Wolf sighs and puts her right glove on, "I'm not supposed to allow you to have contact with the baby since you are having a closed adoption, but I guess I can make an exception."

Troy stands slowly to his feet while Dr. Wolf hands him two gloves and a green overcoat. He slips the overcoat on and quickly pulls the two gloves on his hands. He follows Dr. Wolf into the doorway and into a room with various hospital equipment. She directs him around this and to a small hallway with four doors on each side. The first door on the right is the one she directs him to. She pulls the door open gently, lets Troy in, and closes it quietly.

"Just hold on a second, I think the baby is asleep," she says and checks the monitor on the left of another door in front of them. "I guess the baby woke up then."

She pushes open another door and allows Troy to walk in first. His heart beats as he sees a small baby, no longer than his forearm, curled up in a ball. Beside the baby lies a yellow and green blanket, one smaller than the dish towels he uses at home. The baby's muscles contract a few times and then they relax quickly after. The features of Troy are shown on its face, not Jessica's, and straight, light brown hair caresses its head. Long fingers, short, stubby toes, and a roman nose. Troy finds a seat beside the small incubator and is careful when he sits in it, afraid that he might disturb the baby. A few tears escape the corners of his eyes but he is quick to rid himself of them.

"Boy or girl?" is the first thing that leaves Troy's mouth.

Dr. Wolf chuckles a little. She turns the light on above the incubator and walks over to a machine, "Are you sure you want to know that?"

"I'm just curious," a little smile creeps out of the corners of his mouth.

"If you really want to know, then I'll tell you."

Troy looks back at the stressing baby and glances at Dr. Wolf, "Tell me," he says.

"Boy," she says, "six pounds, one ounce, 3:15 PM."

Troy finds a little hope in a crevice of his heart. He strokes the incubator with a gentle stroke. The baby opens his eyes a little and twitches once before letting out a small yawn. Troy gives a little smile, still trying to fend off tears, but it is inevitable.

He knows that this baby belongs with him, not with someone he doesn't know, or with Jessica, or anyone else. This is his baby.

"Connor," Troy whispers to the baby, "Gabriella loves that name, so you're going to be Connor."

"I'm guessing that you're going to keep him?" Dr. Wolf crosses her arms and looks down into the incubator.

"I don't know if I could live with myself giving him to someone else. I couldn't live with myself even leaving this hospital, knowing he's suffering. I'm more than angry at Jessica for doing this to him; I'm angry at her for a lot of things, but I do know that I can do this by myself. I can raise a baby. Maybe it will be hard, but I can't just leave him in the dust."

Dr. Wolf sighs a little and checks the monitor again, then at the baby, "I don't know if he's ever going to be mentally stable after this if he makes it out okay, Mr. Bolton, but I'm kind of glad that you're deciding to keep him. He wouldn't have any visitors to talk to him. Poor little guy."

Troy is absorbed. He cannot pull his eyes away, even for the slightest second.

Connor is _his_ baby.


	4. Chapter 4

January 29th, 2013

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god-"

"Troy, are you okay?"

"Oh my god, oh my god-"

"Troy!"

A burst of white light blinds him. He frantically covers his eyes and cries out in agony as his eyes begin to burn. The pain hurts, the memories hurt, the dreams hurt... His arm is jerked off his face, and he shuts his eyes tightly. Water falls from his eyes.

"Troy, open your eyes!"

Light floods through his pupils. Everything is blurry, undefined as if he's blind. He struggles to make out distant objects and people, but to no avail. He grips the cotton underneath him and grits his teeth. Unbearable pain in his head follows, then down his spine to his feet, and all over his body. He groans deeply in agonizing pain.

"It hurts!" Troy finally spits out.

The intensity of the light is lowered. Now, objects are clearing up, but not enough. He still cannot define things as they are. His hearing is crisp, as he can hear Rex barking in the distance and he can hear voices perfectly, but his ability to see is gone.

"Troy, we're here, it's okay!"

"Connor, Dr. Wolf, mom-"

Silence finds the people that are with him.

"Gabriella's brother and his mom's old doctor?" one person says.

"And his mom..." another one says.

His vision becomes sharp in a matter of miliseconds. He stares into Keith, Randy, and Bryan's faces.

"What the hell-"

"Troy, are you okay?" Keith says.

He looks around at his surroundings. Many snow banks pile along the road, many of which have been sloshed in by Rex. The ground underneath is blacktop with a dotted yellow line going down the middle of it. Many houses surround the road. Underneath himself is a white blanket, and he is covered with a red one. Dull pains travel through his head. He screams and holds his head. Wet tissue surrounds his forehead, and he quickly pulls his hands away, only to stare at dark red blood dripping off his fingers.

"Stay still," Bryan shouts.

Bryan's voice causes Troy's ears to ring.

"Where's Connor?" Troy pushes himself up but is half-thrown, half-set back down.

"Probably at home, sleeping,"

"Sleeping? At home? By himself?" Troy pushes himself up once again but is forced back down.

"Stay down!" Keith shouts.

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY KID?!" Troy screeches.

"He's delusional," Bryan says, "just let him be."

Troy closes his eyes. Muffled voices surround him, and he's gone.

…..

Beeping monitors and doctors surround him. He sits up in his bed, fighting for consciousness.

"Troy! You're okay! It's okay!" Keith says.

"No, no!" Troy cries out, tears falling down his cheeks. He fights the arms that try to hold him back, "Connor, my kid!"

"Troy, calm down for a second!"

For once, Troy obeys. His rapid breathing and fighting subsides. His eyes are enlarged and bloodshot..

"Jessica didn't have your baby yet, Troy. I don't know who the fuck Connor is, maybe Gabriella's older brother, but you're being stupid about this!"

Troy looks around the room, watching various nurses check monitors. He stares over at the clock, which reads 3:43 AM.

"How the hell did this happen to me? What happened?" he says.

Keith sighs. He takes a seat in the chair that he originally must have been sitting in, "You left your house. Bryan assumed you were going to Gabriella's. We got worried when we heard a car horn and a bunch of screams outside, so we went out, and you must have went unconscious or something while you were walking. You only got to the road and then you collapsed."

"I was bleeding too?"

"We wrapped your head up pretty tight. We put a blanket under you and we covered you up with one to keep you warm, since your heartbeat was so faint," Keith stares at Troy, who is in obvious disbelief. "Are you okay, man?"

Troy shakes his head, "Fuck _me_..."

"It's alright now, you're in the hospital. The nurses said you have a mild concussion and a slice on the back of your head from the ice, but other than that, you're okay."

Troy lies back in bed and rolls to his right side, away from Keith. None of it was true. It didn't happen. He never went to see his mom, nor did he see Jessica or his baby. He was a deadbeat father, a scared son, and a mean bully towards Jessica.

"Keith, can I be alone for a while? Just so I can... Figure some things out..."

"Sure," Keith stands up slowly and starts towards the door, "just push the nurse's button if you need anything, okay?"

"Sure thing," Troy says, "and thanks for helping me out."

"No problem," the door closes.

How alone can one man really be? No mother, no father, none of his sisters, a few good friends that only come around once in a while. Although he does have Rex, Rex cannot give him advice on life. Rex can't work and provide him money. Rex can't speak. Rex can only listen and love.

Still, he fights to find love. He fights for a person, someone who really cares about him. The only person he can really think of isn't here. His own child.


	5. Chapter 5

January 29th, 2013

The time ticks away on the clock. Hours and hours pass, and no sleep overcomes him. All through the day, he listens to the moans of hurt people, crying kids and babies, sickly people, and the staff frantically dealing with the overload of people. There's not one quiet moment in the hospital until night. Now, being eleven at night, everyone sleeps and the staff quietly takes breaks and caters to only a few patients at a time. Everything is quite peaceful.

Troy throws the blankets over and swings his feet over the edge of the bed. He carefully touches the bandage on his head, feeling to see if any blood has dripped through. He finds no wet spots, so therefore, he stands up and begins to pace the room. Bryan took his phone shortly after he and Keith left, just to be an asshole to Troy. There's no TV in his room because he gave it up to a little girl who had a broken leg and was screaming her head off. The TV calmed her down, and she fell asleep after that. There were no books, since the janitor came around and took them to the lobby. No way of entertainment.

He cracks the door open slightly and looks around outside. Nobody is around. Before he has a chance to close the door, the hospital phone beside his bed rings. He raises an eyebrow, but still answers it.

"Troy Bolton, would you like a visitor?"

He laughs a little, "Sure, bring 'em down."

He hangs up, chuckling, "I wonder what Keith and Bryan are going to do to me this late at night..." He quickly jumps into bed and throws the blankets aside. A small knocking sound falls upon the door.

"Come in," he says.

The door opens slightly, then all the way. It isn't who he expects.

"Gabriella, what are you..."

She must have just been released from work, because her short hair is up in a ponytail and is straightened. She still has on her work shirt and a pair of jeans. Her gorgeous eyes are bloodshot and her cheeks are slightly red, as if she's been crying. She looks weaker than the last time he saw her at school, like she's been sucked of her muscle mass.

"I heard that something happened to you," she says in a gentle voice. She doesn't move away from the door.

Troy is almost speechless just at her voice. He cannot believe that she came to visit him while he was in the hospital. She ignores him elsewhere.

"I just have a cut on the back of my head and a concussion, but I'll be fine."

"How did you do it?"

"I don't even remember. Keith and Bryan said I slipped on the ice or that I must have went unconscious all of a sudden."

She bursts into tears and turns her head to the side, "Sorry, I can't-"

"It's okay... I'm okay, don't worry about me-"

She wipes her cheeks, "How can I not worry about you?"

He chuckles a little, "I'm completely fine, there's nothing to worry about. I'll be out of here on the first of February, but I'm only in here for observation. Like I said, I will be okay."

She stands in the corner, trying to hide her tears and her pain, but Troy senses it. He knows when she is truly upset. She's not faking it. He's loved her for so long, he knew almost everything about her. It was more upsetting to him that she was scared for him.

"Gabriella, you can sit down," he reaches over and drags the chair out of the corner of the room. She glances over at it, then hesitantly walks to it. She examines it for a minute, then looks at him before taking a seat. She sets her keys on the nightstand beside Troy's bed and her purse beside the chair. He notices that she has a car key. He looks up at her with a big smile.

"You got your license?"

She looks over at her keys, "I took my test the day I turned sixteen."

"Good for you," he says.

He is taken back to a time where he was almost sixteen and Gabriella was too scared to drive. He took her on the back roads and gave her the wheel. She struggled to learn where everything was and to get over her fear, but with Troy's help, she soon got her permit and began driving all over the place with her dad. Troy loved watching her drive because she looked so free.

"I'm really sorry about your mom. She was always so nice to me and she never turned me down for anything. She was like a second mom to me."

He nods a little, "She talked about you all the time when you weren't there. She really liked you."

"I heard you dropped out," she says. "I don't see you at school anymore."

He lets out a small sigh, "I did drop out."

"And I heard that you have another girlfriend."

"I did for about three d-"

"She's pregnant, isn't she?"

An awkward silence weaves between Troy and Gabriella. He doesn't know what to say. Telling Gabriella is like telling her that he did cheat on her, but how can he possibly lie to someone he cares about so much?

"Yeah," Troy admits

She looks down at the ground and quietly says, "Oh."

Troy knows that his words just tore her apart. He remembers her talking about kids all the time. She loves kids. She always used to talk about her favorite names for boys and girls. Every time she saw a baby or a young kid, she always asked about them, wanted to play with them, wanted to be their mother. She wanted a baby more than any regular person wanted kids. What made her longings for kids so special to Troy is she wanted her kids from him, not from anyone else. She wanted to be with Troy forever, so he knows that when she thought he cheated on her, she must have been shredded. She was probably even distraught for all that matters.

"Are you keeping it?" she asks in an upset tone.

He looks at her body, which is arched over and her head hanging low. He can't lie to her.

"I was thinking about it. She doesn't want it. I only have a few weeks to decide on it, though."

A sob frees from her body. It makes Troy jump. She must not have expected it either.

"Are you okay?"

"_I'm fine_," she uses a hard tone.

"Let's not talk about this any more, I don't want to make you upset."

Clearly, it's too late. She has tears falling from her eyes to her jeans, and she is quick to try and rub the liquid away from them.

"It's just hard, Troy. It's really, really hard. I still cry all the time."

"Gabriella, I didn't cheat on you. Whether you believe me or not, I didn't."

"How could I not have concluded that when you ditched me and supposedly just drove her home? How suspicious is that, Troy?"

"I thought you had a ride! You _KNOW_ I wouldn't leave you there if I thought you didn't have a ride. I fucking loved you, and I still do!"

She stands up, "Do you know how hard it was to just show up here? I just wanted to know if you were okay, and I get this again-"

Troy also stands up, "Do you still love me?"

Troy and Gabriella lock in a nasty stalemate. Their stares pierce each other and tear one another down.

Troy becomes defensive, "Answer the _fucking_ question."

Every tear that drips from her eyes jerks another part of Troy away. He loves her so much, and watching her cry out of hurt feelings kills him. He knows that she wants to turn and run, but she's entranced in his view. There is no backing out. The truth is the only thing that will let her be free.

"I've always loved you. I never stopped loving you. You never stop loving your first love."

A tear falls from Troy's eye as well. He shakes his head.

"Then why won't you come home?"

"I don't belong with you-"

"Yes you do and you know you do."

She begins to break down. She cries out her innocence and drops to the floor. She curls up in a small ball with her knees to her chest and her head buried in them. Troy drops down to her level and places his hand on her back, unsure of her reaction. When she doesn't respond, he moves it up and down her spine. Her trembles find him and squeeze his body tighter, retching out every drop of resentment towards her that he may have. He pities her.

"I miss you so much, I just wish you would believe me. Have I _ever_ lied to you?" he says.

She sobs loudly and shakes her head guiltily.

"I wish you would give me another chance to prove that I love you and that I would never hurt you."

From the corner of her eye, she looks at him, blinks, and then sobs again. He gives her the softest expression that he could possibly muster. She snakes her arm and grabs his arm, then pulls herself to a sitting up position. She scoots towards him and collapses into his arms, burying her head into his shirt. An entire new light fires up in Troy's heart.

"I missed you so much," Troy buries his face into her hair.

"I don't know if I can go on any longer without you," she cries.

Troy scoops her up in his arms and stands to his feet, dropping her on the bed. She moves over willingly and allows him to slide in bed beside her. He pulls her close once again, but this time, strokes her hair.

"Do you believe me?" he asks.

She gives a simple nod.

"Do you still love me?"

She nods again.

A smile rises upon his face.

Soon, both sleep peacefully.


End file.
